Evaluating patient-centered outcomes in the randomized controlled trial and beyond: informing the future with lessons from the past.

In the era of molecular oncology, patients still define a useful therapy as one that allows them to live longer and helps them to live better. Although patient outcomes have clearly improved as a result of randomized controlled trials (RCT), it is critical that contemporary trials retain the perspective of these fundamental patient-centered outcomes. Trends in study design, results, and interpretation of oncology RCTs from the past provide a useful framework in which to consider how the research community may approach trial design in the future. Although the RCT remains the standard for establishing efficacy, this article also considers how population-based outcome studies can provide insight into effectiveness of new therapies and explores how the results of RCTs translate into benefit in the general population.